A small plane carrying three passengers crashed on Boone Golf Club on Monday afternoon.
The crash occurred only moments after takeoff at approximately 12:56 p.m., and the Boone Police Department, Boone Fire Department, Watauga County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to the crash.
Captain Andy LeBeau and Chief Dana Crawford of Boone Police Department held a news briefing at the Boone Golf Club parking lot at 4:15 p.m. LeBeau said that they did not have much information to give about the crash at that moment and that “we would run out of answers before you all run out of questions.”
Crawford, who led the briefing, said that two witnesses were on the scene and that the plane appeared to be in distress and clipped the tops of some trees before crashing on to the golf course.
The two witnesses turned into rescuers and were able to assist two survivors. One survivor was airlifted to Winston-Salem and the other was airlifted to Johnson City, Tennessee. One passenger did not survive and Crawford said that the man was a “local resident, and he is actually a friend to many in the community.” The man was pronounced dead by the medical examiner who arrived approximately 45 minutes prior to the briefing, Crawford said.
Crawford said that they could not release names because extended family have not been notified.
“We are very saddened by this loss and extend our condolences to the family we hope and pray that the survivors will be okay but serious injuries were sustained,” Crawford said.
The Boone Police Department will be conducting the initial investigation, however the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will be responding to conduct further investigation later this evening.
Crawford said the last plane crash in Boone was about seven years ago.
Update:
Boone Police Department released the names of the crash victims.
John Field Worsley, 68 years old, and Steven Cox Berry, 43 years old, are in critical condition at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem.
Ben Chappell, 69 years old, was killed in the crash. Chappell was a retired State Trooper of NC State Highway Patrol.